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Its more viable for the government to have a viable stocking programme and for petes sake stop all netting on this lake. I am sure tourist dollars are a greater source of revenue than the netting which has devastated the walleye stocks

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Maybe it's time the NFN to consider not netting the lake and taking advantage of their location and resources to open a resort/casino on Nip. To my mind, everyone wins, except those addicted to gambling!

Shortsightedness has left the pickereye population devastated, which will trickle down to the wallets of everyone in the area.

Resorts/casino's seem to be thriving elsewhere in the province, so why not the Nip region.

HH

PS - here we go again! I've got the popcorn maker out and await the usual results of threads like this!

Something to chew on. Illegal netting is illegal netting, no matter who is doing it. The lake was just fine before it was colonized. The fact that illegal netters can make profit means that there is a market for it on the first place. Treaty rights do not bend at our will, they are the law of the land just like our Constitution. Meanwhile the OFAH will fight any and all measures suggested to help out the lake. I don't believe the lake is in the dire straits that some people seem to suggest, as any competent walleye angler that spends time out there will catch a ton of fish, and there are two very strong year classes just now reaching sexual maturity, so if we can a few good recruitment years from those fish, that will be a huge help. Stocking is not the answer. Walleye should not exist on a put and take basis, seems really silly to me to be suggesting that, since Nipissing is a walleye factory and shouldn't require supplementation if managed properly.

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Not to mention, just about every walleye fishery in central/northeastern Ontario is a very far cry from where it was even 20 years ago due to angling pressure, without the help of nets, yet that fact seems to be ignored by everyone. It's not as though everything else in the area hasn't been hit just as hard if not harder...

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1. Any effort into outlawing the nets is a wasted effort unless it comes from Nipissing First Nations (NFN) themselves. This stuff has been to the supreme court and back.

2. NFN is making headway with understanding the effect of their netting and the new chief (Scott McLeod) is doing a great job so far implementing measures to at least attempt a reduction in netting.

3. On the flipside, NFN has had failures with their own implementation of a moratorium. In 2015, 19700 walleye were netted over 13 days (IIRC), during their own self-imposed moratorium. We saw this again in 2016. There is no legal recourse to stop this.

4. The only realistic approach to "stopping the nets" is subsidizing the netters directly. If you think about it, this is a cheap solution.

5. I would like to see some measures put in place to reduce fish mortality. Walleye rarely survive when retrieved from 35ft+ of water. It may sound silly but I say ban fishing in waters 30ft+ in depth.

6. Everyone should go barbless.

7. The wasted fish due to by-catch is a moral crime. NFN should be obligated to give away by-catch.

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Angler harvest and Commercial harvest were within a thousand kilos of each other in 2015. It was -/+ 28,000 kg anglers and 29,000 kg commercial if I remember correctly. No one should be pointing the finger unilaterally at the other side here.

they are still netting...read the comments, one guy admits to netting and subsequently shooting 10 moose in one year on the rez to "feed his extended family"

funny enough this same guy is also the only one who cant properly write...education and knowledge is power...

That article provides some fantastic insight from a lot of elders that make very very solid points, it becomes very obvious the type of people who feel that they have a right to illegally net still "the chief is the chief, hes not a judge"...but if a judge told you to stop youd say hes violating your rites as well..what way do these guys want to have it?

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The netting has spread down to the French river As soon as the majority of the tourists and anglers leave out come the nets . A fish caught in a net is only generates income of what it is worth buy the pound but a fish caught by an angler is worth five if not tenfold . Dont get me wrong I am very sympathetic to the First Nations but the government has to realize that bandaids do not work when major surgery is required. A progressive solution must be found . Perhaps buying the quotas on an annual basis and stricter enforcement of illegal netting y the First Nations and the MNR.

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Where did you find 2015 information Dutch? I can only seem to get info dated up to 2014.

I guess it wasn't 2015, that's probably wrong. This is an old issue that's been argued many times. I looked it up a while ago. It's been busy at work so I haven't been able to look for the link.... Sorry!

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I did find a reference to a 29K (commercial) vs 20K (angler) reference in this thread:

Kuha I believe last year the NFN fishery took out about 29000 kg and the anglers were around 20000kg. And both these numbers represent all fish caught, biologists take the side of caution so estimate higher numbers to ensure the highest number possible is used. This cover non compliances.

I can't find any other hard numbers right now. My point is this isn't a new issue, and both sides are keeping 10's of thousands of kilos of fish. They're both living in glass houses and throwing stones.

I can't find any other hard numbers right now. My point is this isn't a new issue, and both sides are keeping 10's of thousands of kilos of fish. They're both living in glass houses and throwing stones.

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Maybe it's time the NFN to consider not netting the lake and taking advantage of their location and resources to open a resort/casino on Nip. To my mind, everyone wins, except those addicted to gambling!

Shortsightedness has left the pickereye population devastated, which will trickle down to the wallets of everyone in the area.

Resorts/casino's seem to be thriving elsewhere in the province, so why not the Nip region.

HH

PS - here we go again! I've got the popcorn maker out and await the usual results of threads like this!

Indians only like to do business when they have the upper hand on everything........they don't like to play by the same rules as everyone else.

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thats wrong it's not JUST angling pressure ... It's water flow issues development and invasives as well and many other factors not JUST angling ......

Not to mention, just about every walleye fishery in central/northeastern Ontario is a very far cry from where it was even 20 years ago due to angling pressure, without the help of nets, yet that fact seems to be ignored by everyone. It's not as though everything else in the area hasn't been hit just as hard if not harder...

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Love my annual trip to nip, been going for the last 10 yrs for a week with an outfitter. Yes the fishing has declined over the last 5 yrs that I have noticed. Many of you probably can say been longer than that, BUT last years walleye fishing was much better imo, no doubt due to stricter regulations. Not a lot of keepers but good sized fish that will be even better this year. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't closing walleye on rice lake for a few yrs work for the fishery? Seems like rice is doing a lot better these days. Is this an issue because nfn is requesting this? I love nip and am looking forward to my January trip and I do feel for those who make a living from the industry, but I won't be totally upset if I have to head some place else this winter.

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I think the Nipissing FN are on the right track and I'm encouraged by the Chief's actions. I find it discouraging that some band members won't cooperate. In the Non FN community the noncooperative get charged and tried in a court. Can we really allow FN individuals to do what ever they want? Can't the FN community ask for the charging of such individuals? What do they do if the individual decides that drinking and driving is OK on Rez?

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This is absolutely ridiculous. I buy pickerel at the farmer's market which I know for a fact is caught in nets. They sell 50 pounds of it every Saturday. Why should these businesses suffer because certain individuals are abusing our lakes? !!! Very disappointing.

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Love my annual trip to nip, been going for the last 10 yrs for a week with an outfitter. Yes the fishing has declined over the last 5 yrs that I have noticed. Many of you probably can say been longer than that, BUT last years walleye fishing was much better imo, no doubt due to stricter regulations. Not a lot of keepers but good sized fish that will be even better this year. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't closing walleye on rice lake for a few yrs work for the fishery? Seems like rice is doing a lot better these days. Is this an issue because nfn is requesting this? I love nip and am looking forward to my January trip and I do feel for those who make a living from the industry, but I won't be totally upset if I have to head some place else this winter.

They can still net the walleyes though. So how does this ensure positive results?